WE HAVE A LARGE SELECTION OF ALL COLOR AMBER FROM AROUND THE WORLD
What is Amber?
Amber is fossilized tree resin, which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber has achieved a stable state through loss of volatile constituents and chemical change after burial in the ground.
Although The majority of Amber is found with in Cretaceous and Paleogene sedimentary rocks (approximately 30 to 90 million years old) There has been numerous discusions and studies of how long amber actualy metures from copal to amber. This is an ungoing debate that will continue for years to come. After plenty of research we have concluted that amber matures at about 5 million years old. This processes that influenced the formation of Amber have left their traces in different parts of the globe because they had an effect on not only resins of Coniferous Trees, but also on resins of leaf-bearing trees and even leguminous plants.
Amber has been found throughout the world, but the largest and most significant deposits occur along the shores of the Baltic Sea in sands 40,000,000 to 60,000,000 years old. Amber occurs as irregular nodules, rods, or droplike shapes in all shades of yellow with nuances of orange, brown, White, Black and rarely, red. Milky-white opaque varieties are called bone amber. The turbidity of some amber is caused by inclusions of many minute air bubbles. Many hundreds of species of fossil insects and plants are found as inclusions. Deeply coloured translucent to transparent amber is prized as gem material.
Modern scientific techniques are directed toward isolating and identifying as many as possible of the individual resin components and, ultimately, to establishing a genetic relationship between fossil resins and modern resin-producing trees. By means of infrared spectroscopy, Mexican (Chiapas) amber and Doninican Republic Hato Mayor and Santiago regions Amber are shown to be related to a modern leguminous tree, Hymenaea. Though in the past amber was believed to be completely amorphous, subsequent X-ray diffraction studies have revealed crystalline components in some fossil resins.
230 Million Years Old: Found in sandstones of Upper-Triassic age in the Southern Alps (Italy) Age: 230 Ma. (Late Triassic period) Mother plant: affinity to a conifer family Colours: yellow to brown Inclusions: small fungi, and micro-organisms Special characteristis: oldest known amber with oldest inclusions world-wide.
Where is Amber From?
Dolomites Amber
230 Million Years Old: Found in sandstones of Upper-Triassic age in the Southern Alps (Italy) Age: 230 Ma. (Late Triassic period) Mother plant: affinity to a conifer family Colours: yellow to brown Inclusions: small fungi, and micro-organisms Special characteristis: oldest known amber with oldest inclusions world-wide.
Lebanon Amber
125 Million Years Old: Found amber beds are located in the district of Jezzine Age: 125 Ma. (Early Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: Agathis (Araucariaceae) Colours: ranging from translucent yellow to faintly translucent dark brown to honey colour Inclusions: many inclusions, but poor preservation Special characteristics: many different deposits.
Jordan Amber
130 Million Years Old: Found in the Kurnub sandstone of Wadi Zerka north of Amman Age: 130 Ma. (Early Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: Agathis (Araucariaceae) Colours: mostly yellow, brown, and dark red Inclusions: quite rare, not well preserved, quite similar to those of Libanon amber Special characteristics: Agathis-like plants occur in the amber-bearing-strata.
Golling Amber from Austria
120 to 130 Million Years Old: Found in coal-rich sediments of the Austrian alps near Golling/Salzburg Age: 130-120 Ma. (Early Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: mostly from dark brown to black Inclusions: very rare, not well preserved because of natural heating Special characteristics: structures caused by the folding of the Austrian alps.
Spain Amber
110 Million Years Old: Found Pe?acerrada-Moraz?n region, the northern parts of Spain Age: 110Ma. (Early Cretaceous) Mother-plant: Araucaria Colours: blue Inclusions: abundant Special characteristics: bluish pieces of amber with inclusions.
Taimyr Amber
80 to 130 Million Years Old: Found in the coastal area on the beaches of the Taimyr peninsula, near Yantardakh Age: 105-80 Ma. (Late Cretaceous) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: yellow transparent Inclusions: common Special characteristics: this amber is found only onthe seaside.
Japanese Amber
110 Million Years Old: Found mostly in Kuji (North Japan), also in Mizunami and Chosi. Amber from Kuji is deposited on the mountains slopes at about 600 metres depth. Age: Kuji amber is 85 Ma. (Late Cretaceous period), Chosi amber is 110 Ma. (Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: from green to black, Chosi amber is a type with a very varied spectrum of colours, Mizunami amber is dark, brown or intensiv red colour Inclusions: rare Special characteristics: most of the pieces are cracked because of seismic tremors and the high pressure at considerable depths. The cracks often contain quartz crystals.
Burmese Amber “Burmite”
100 Million Years Old: Found mainly in the Hukong Valley (Northern Burma) where it occurs in clay deposits and coal seams Age: 100 Ma. (Early Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: Agathis (Araucariaceae) Colours: often clear and transparent, varying from red to brown Inclusions: contains many inclusions Special characteristics: inclusions from the Cretaceous period are well-preserved.
Canadian Amber
70 to 95 Million Years Old: Found in various regions of Canada. The term Canadian amber generally refers to amber collected in the vicinity of Cedar Lake, Manitoba. Age: 95-70 Ma. (Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: Agathis (Araucariaceae) Colours: red, brown Inclusions: contains many inclusions, mainly flies, bugs, and arachnids Special characteristics: It is found in areas where amber and dinosaur bones occur together.
Ethiopian Amber
93 to 95 Million Years Old: Found Debre Lebanon, in the northern part of Addis Ababa Age: 95-93 Ma. (Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: yellow Inclusions: abundant (plant fragments, flying insects, arachnids, microorganisms) Special characteristics:The first real amber in Africa.
New Jersey Amber (USA)
80 Million Years Old: Found in lignite layers just a few feet below surface, near the town Sayreville (New Jersey) Age: 80 Ma. (Late Cretaceous period) Mother-plant: Metasequoia (Taxodiaceae) Colours: yellow to red, translucent Inclusions: abundant, up to 100 unknown species of insects and plants were found Special characteristics: Amazing inclusions: the oldest known bee Trigona prisca.
Chinese Amber
55 to 60 Million Years Old: Found in coal-beds of the Guchenzgi formation, near the city Fu Shun, province Liaoning Age: 60-55 Ma. (Late Paleocene to Early Eocene period) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: usually with a black weathering crust, after polishing transparent, yellow to brown Inclusions: contains many inclusions Special characteristics: The inclusions are badly preserved because of natural heating of the amber.
Sachalin Amber
52 to 55 Million Years Old: Found on the shores of the island Sachalin Age: 55-52 Ma. (Palaeocene period) Mother- plant: unknown Colours: dark yellow to brown Inclusions: common Special characteristics: only small pieces occur.
French (Oise) Amber
55 Million Years Old: Found near the Oise river just outside Paris, in sandy, lignitic layers Age: 55 Ma. (Early Eocene period) Mother-plant: the Hymenaea tree Colours: single pieces with a typical frosted surface; after polishing mostly yellow transparent Inclusions: many inclusions, mainly arthropods, few plant fragments Special characteristics: The pollen extracted from the amber are close to a modern Hymenaea species, which today is found only in the Amazonas rainforest.
India Amber
53 Million Years Old: Found north-west coast of India, Gujarat Province Age: 53 Ma. (Late Eocene period) Mother- plant: Dipterocarpaceae Colours: brown Inclusions: many insects and plants Special characteristics: inclusions can be removed from theamber.
Amber from Switzerland
50 Million Years Old: Found in lignite sandstones, near Fribourg and Bern Age: 50 Ma. (Late Eocene period) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: honey-yellow to orange-brown, transparent Inclusions: few plants inclusions Special characteristics: Under UV light the amber shows an intensive blue-white fluorescence.
Ukrainian Amber
45 to 50 Million Years Old: Found in sands above and below the groundwater level in Western Ukraine (Parcew Delta, Klesov Delta) Age: 50-45 Ma (Eocene period) Mother-plant: pine tree Pinus succinifera Colours: mostly brown, brown-yellow, yellow transparent-red, light green, blue-greenish-yellow; translucent-light green; white with a green or blue tint Inclusions: less inclusions than in Baltic amber, due to the smaller amount of layered amber Special characteristics: Amber pieces above the groundwater level are usually covered with a typical dark-brown to black weathering crust.
Australia Amber
50 Million Years Old: Found Queensland, Cape York Age: 50 Ma. (Eocene period) Mother-plant: Kauri Colours: mostly brown, brown-yellow, yellow, sometimes red-transparent Inclusions: many inclusions Special characteristics: washed ashore with a variety of resin and the pumice.
Rumanite, Amber from Romania
28 to 32 Million Years Old: Found in sandstones from the banks of the River Buzau, in the East Carpathians Age: 32-28 Ma. (Early Oligocene) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: brownish-yellow, red-brown, black Inclusions: very rare, not well preserved because of natural heating Special characteristics: famous for rich colours, ranging from brownish-yelllow to deep brown. Pieces of brownish red amber reflect a blue-green fluorescence, similar to that of the “blue amber” from the Dominican Republic.
Italy Amber (Simetite)
22 to 25 Million Years Old: Found in Sicily (South Italy) on the banks of the Simetus river Age: 25-22 Ma. (Early Mioceneperiod) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: raw-material black; after polishing, famous for its dark-red colours; also pieces with blue fluorescence Inclusions: rare Special characteristics: the famous Simetite collection of the Prince Ingnatius Piscary from Catania, which was mentioned by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe during his journey to Italy in the year 1787.
Amber from Nicaragua
18 to 23 Million Years Old: Found in sandstones at the Caribbean sea-shore of Nicaragua Age: 23-18 Ma. (Early Miocene period) Mother-plant: the Hymenaea tree Colours: varying from transparent yellow to red Inclusions: only a few up to now Special characteristics: newly discovered amber deposit.
Dominican Amber
20 to 23 Million Years Old: Found in sand and claystones of the Northern and Eastern Mountain Ranges at elevations between 500 and 1,200 metres Age: 23-20 Ma. (Early Mioceneperiod) Mother-plant: the Hymenaea tree Colours: yellow, red, green, sometimes blue shades, 90% is trasparent amber Inclusions: many inclusions, fauna and flora reflect a dry tropical climate with many groups of organisms Special characteristics: There exist single amber lumps with an amazing number of inclusions, pieces with 10-50 ants or flies are not rare, but also such with 500-1000 occur. An unusally fluorescent variety which occurs only in limited areas is called blue amber.
Mexican (Chiapas) Amber
23 Million Years Old: Found deposited in lignite layers, mainly in Chiapas, to the East in the Lacondon jungle Age: 23-20 Ma. (Early Miocene period) Mother-plant: the Hymenaea tree Colours: varying from yellow to red/brown; special red translutient pieces and fluorescent blue green varieties are also found Inclusions: because of natural heating usually not well preserved Special characteristics: large Mexican amber lumps are often covered with large fossil oyster shells.
Borneo (Sarawak) Amber
15 to 23 Million Years Old: Found within a coal-seam of the Merit-Pila coal-mine in Sarawak, North Borneo, Malaysia Age: 23-15 Ma. (Late-middle Miocene period) Mother-plant: angiosperm tree of the Dipterocarpaceae family Colours: mainly dark-brown to yellow-brown, partly whitish Special characteristics: Worlwide largest pieces of amber, up to 30 kg..
North Carolina Amber (USA)
16 to 23 Million Years Old: Found in the area of Aurora, North Carolina, U.S.A Age: 23-16 Ma. (Neogene period) Mother-plant: unknown Colours: dark-brown, opaque Inclusions: unknown Special characteristics: thedark-brown colours.
Indonesia Amber
10 to 23 Million Years Old: Indonesian fossil resins have a range of age and was not all laid down in the same period. So, purchasing Indonesian amber inlay some risks related to possibility of purchasing processed copal instead of amber. Copal is a young fossil resin (11 000 years old and younger), that has not undergone the process of amberisation. That is why it is softer than amber and easy to break or crack. Due to this, copal is way cheaper and easy to get, what makes it a favorite material for producing amber fakes.
Duxite from Czech Republic
20 Million Years Old: Found in Bohemia, near the village Dux Age: 20 Ma. (Neogene period) Mother-plant: Cupressaceae Colours: mostly opaque, dark yellow to brown Inclusions: none Special characteristics: occurs attached to or inside fossilized wood.
Colombian Copal
5000 Years Old: Found Pena Blanca Age: between 5000 and some hundred years Mother-plant: the Hymenaea tree Colours: pale yellow Inclusions: abundant, but modern fauna and flora Special characteristics: Larger pieces could be filled with some hundreds of termites.
Madagascar Copal
50 to 500 Years Old: Found embedded in about one half or one metre depth of the western coastal area of Madagascar Age: between 50 and 500years Mother-plant: the Hymenaea tree Colours: mostly transparent and pale yellow or brown Inclusions: many inclusions, but modern fauna and flora Special characteristics: All copal is soft and smears when it is ground or polished.
Borneo Copal
500 Years Old: Found West Borneo, Indonesia Age: very young, from today to max. 500 years Mother-plant: unknown Colours: dark red with white dots Inclusions: unknown Special characteristics: strange colours.
Phillipines Copal (Manila Copal)
Young: Found on some islands of the Phillipines Republic Age: very young, from today to max. some hundred years Mother-plant: different trees of the order Dipterocarpaceae (Dammar tree) Colours: varying from clear-yellow (fresh) to dark grey (fossil) Inclusions: rare Special characteristics:
